The disproportionation of dichloromethylsilane to form chloromethylsilane and/or methylsilane in the presence of a catalyst by exchange of Si-bonded hydrogen and chlorine atoms is well known in the art. In this reaction, the disproportionation of dichloromethylsilane to form methylsilane may proceed via chloromethylsilane as an isolated intermediate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,590 to Simon et al describes the disproportionation of halogenosilanes by contacting a halogenosilane having at least one Si-H function with compounds containing at least one alpha-oxoamino group as disproportionation catalysts, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,648 to Bailey et al describes treating chlorosilanes with secondary or tertiary aliphatic amines, their salts and derivatives, and heterocyclic amines as disproportionation catalysts. In these processes, the catalyst is homogeneously distributed in the reaction medium, so that the reaction takes place in a homogeneous phase, thereby making it difficult to separate and recover the catalysts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing disproportionation products of dichloromethylsilane, in which the catalysts can be easily removed and separated and thereby reduce the amount of foreign substances present in the resultant chlorosilanes and silanes. Another object of the present invention is to provide a continuous process for preparing chlorosilanes and silanes while providing a means for recovering the catalyst without any additional expenditure in terms of technology or time.